A Sky News investigation on political donations found that the billionaire Fox family is a major donor to the Labor Party:
Fox Group Holdings, linked to Lindsay Fox, provided a $500,000 donation and additional receipts, while Linfox Property Group also gave $10,000 to the party.
The money was obviously well spent, with Linfox receiving nearly $20 million from taxpayers for 26 electric trucks [my emphasis]:
Australia’s biggest private logistics company is rolling out a fleet of 26 heavy-duty Volvo electric trucks across Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide on some of the country’s busiest urban freight routes.
Linfox said it is putting the first of its battery-powered FM prime movers into service on heavy-hauling duties, including food and beverage distribution and integrated rail transport, it was announced this week.
The trucks will cover about 500km a day, replacing diesel vehicles on existing freight routes…
The rollout is part of Linfox’s heavy truck electrification project which is backed by $19.63 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) through its Driving the Nation Program…
The $19.63 million of funding equates to a whopping $755,000 subsidy per vehicle.
Energy and Climate Change Minister Chris Bowen hailed the purchase:
“This investment in electric trucks, fast chargers and onsite solar systems could deliver the biggest cut to Linfox’s fuel use, emissions and running costs in its seven-decade history”, he said.
Why are taxpayers subsidising a billionaire company’s trucking fleet?
If electric trucks were better than diesel trucks, companies would purchase them on their own accord without needing taxpayer subsidies.
Let the market and buyer preference determine which technology is best, and stop wasting taxpayer funds on electric vehicles.
